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Another Busy Week In Albany

Composite Photo by Dave Lucas (WAMC)

It has been a busy week in Albany County politics...

For nearly a decade, there's been talk of building a convention center in downtown Albany. In 2004, the Albany Convention Center Authority was established by the state legislature to develop plans for the site. The project was awarded a $75 million grant in 2005. It never got beyond the idea stage.

Now, along comes a plan for a downsized version - a two-story structure along Eagle Street that, despite the march of years and escalation of prices, would stay within that initial 75 million dollar price tag. If it turns out to be commercially viable, a preliminary environmental review would come next.

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, a Democrat, supports the initiative.  Other issues would need to be addressed, including whether additional hotel space would be needed downtown.

There were fireworks Wednesday night at a meeting of the Albany County Legislature.  Times Union reporter Jordan Carleo-Evangelist was at the meeting. 

Meanwhile, in city politics, one mayoral hopeful in the race to replace Jerry Jennings, who is stepping down after two decades in office, has been disqualified from the race roughly six weeks from the pivotal Democratic primary on September 10th.  Democrat Marlon Anderson says he may opt to run his own party line, something he is considering in order to get on the ballot in November, and not have to run a write-in effort as in his 2009 campaign.

Corey Ellis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both Ellis and Anderson appear to be chasing City Treasurer Kathy Sheehan, the party establishment’s choice, in the race.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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